This acropora came from my friend Drew, and it's unlike other red acropora species. This is not a "red planet" though. It's a very hardy acro, and once settled in will grow into tabletop shapes. In these pictures, you'll see it from a few different angles. Under normal daylight spectrum, this coral is basically red with white tips. The polyps extend to make it somewhat hairy, but it's not in the A. millepora family. This coral is so much more beautiful under full actinic lighting, with a deep red body with purple-blue tips.

The pink Stylophora coral is similar to other corals like Porites and Pocillopora.  Often referred to as Cat's Paw, this rigid coral grows nicely into a stunning colony.  Maintain good water quality and adequate lighting and you'll have similar results.

This purple coral is called Porites, as far as I know. It has a nice structure to it, and extends small polyps while the lights are on. At night, they extend a little bit more, giving this coral a furry appearance. It came with a black acro crab that likes to move from this coral to a neighboring one. I had it under PC lighting in my 29g.

Critter Category: 

 SPS Corals

Montipora digitata is one of the easiest of the SPS corals to keep. It is extremely fragile, and can be broken accidentally or intentionally. This is a reddish-orange specimen, but it comes in many colors. As long as you maintain NSW (Natural Sea Water) parameters and have good intense lighting, it will grow well.

About the size of a one dollar coin, this patch is Montipora digitata. It grew from a tiny puddle, and after several months new branches formed. The polyps are orange, and it looks very vibrant in person. The coral encrusts to the rock to anchor itself before the piece can begin to form a colony.

This Acropora milleopora arrived in pretty bad shape, with 25% of it dead. Although it was beige, it has colored up and looks light purple now. The dead branches (visible above) were removed to allow the rest of the colony to enjoy better circulation. It was suggested that I frag it into three pieces, but I decided to leave it alone and it did fine.

Hydnophora is a pretty SPS coral, but carries a very powerful sting. If other corals come into contact with it, they will often lose. This one is a Plating Hydnophora, rather than the more common branching kind. Strong light, reef parameters, and good flow are all requirements that must be met.

Originally identified as Fire Coral, I was later informed that this is Distichopora sp. From an article by Brad Ward, this coral grows primarily in cave structures of the reef and is non-photosynthetic. Amazingly, the color goes through the entire skeleton even though it grows in complete darkness. I put this piece in a cave structure of my tank but it didn't do well, so I moved it out into the open where it would get better flow.

Like the regular Tubastrea (Sun coral), black suncorals need to be fed to stay healthy and grow.  They open up in total darkness. What makes the black one different is the branching growth with polyps pointing in all different directions.  The skin may be black, or it may be deep green like mine.  When the polyps open up, they appear to be dark green, but slightly translucent.  Gorgeous creature worth the effort, meaning regular target feedings to keep it happy throughout the week.

Look at this thing, lit up with an Azurelite after lights out.